Category: Wine

Today’s selection is a table wine from New Zealand’s South Island that I purchased at Iqaluit’s local beer and wine store. I wasn’t terribly taken with it, given the price, but it is still eminently drinkable…

Winery: Stoneleigh Vineyards

Price: $18.95 CDN

Alcohol: 13.5%

Sugar: 3 g/L

This Pinot Noir is light ruby in color and slightly effervescent on decanting. The nose is aromatic but the fruit is indistinct and almost matched by a vegetal, and also somewhat meaty quality. There are some woody notes and an ephemeral hint of spice. The body is medium light and the effect is dry with a high acidity that impacts immediately. The tannins assert themselves only near the end and, though not strong, have a noticeable astringency. Sour red fruit dominates, but this is matched by a strong forest mushroom presence. There is some woodiness, but not a great deal else in the way of highlights. It is not bad, but not especially interesting.

This Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon (actually a blend) is classified as a ‘Gran Reserva’ from the Maipo DO in the Valle Central wine region. The Gran Reserva classification is meant to denote a wine of superior quality, and, for the price, this particular product and vintage certainly merits the distinction. I purchased it at our local beer and wine store and was told, when I placed my order, that it was a very good wine. I am happy to say that the recommendation was more than just sales pitch… Continue reading “Santa Rita Medalla Real Gran Reserva 2013”→

I like Shiraz based wines from Australia generally. This one is drinkable, to be sure but it is a bit blunt as far as complexity goes, and a little too sweet for my taste.

Winery: Rosemount Estate

Price: $15.85 CDN

Alcohol: 13.5%

Sugar: 5.5 g/L

Blend: Gamay 90% – Pinot Noir 10%

The color is a dark cherry and the body thick and quite silky. The nose is moderately aromatic and rich with red fruits and berries, notably raspberry and red-currant. There is also a pleasant highlight of straw along with touches of wood. The primary flavor is a mix of dark fruit and red-berries but the highlights are limited to some woody notes. All in all, the effect is rather flat. This wine is pleasantly drinkable, if a bit sweetish, but not overly complex overall.

Today’s selection is a table wine from Australia’s South Eastern wine-making region. I happened to try the 2014 vintage a year or so ago and gave it a three star rating. This vintage is a bit better in my opinion, and, having regard to the very decent price, I awarded it another star…

Winery: Lindeman’s Wines

Price: $12 CDN

Alcohol: 13%

Sugar: 8.2 g/L

This Shiraz is a dark cherry color with a slight purplish tint. It has a somewhat muted yet aromatic nose with dark berries, some floral notes, a slight woodiness and even a very faint spicy hit of liquorice. It is quite full bodied with a creamy texture and is quite dry. Acidity is moderate to high and impacts quickly with robust tannins developing only a moment later. Sour cherry and blackcurrant dominate and the faint floral quality of the nose is much more noticeable. There is a faint earthiness and nice notes of pepper. The finish is decently long but the acidity near the end breaks the more rounded effect earlier on. It is a very decent wine for the price.

The Coteaux Bourguignon AOC in Burgundy produces reds, white and rose wines, and the reds can be Gamay,Pinot Noir, or a blend of the two. This one is a blend, heavy on the Gamay…

Winery: Compagnie Vinicole de Bourgogne

Price: $13.35 CDN

Alcohol: 13%

Sugar: 2.1 g/L

Blend: Gamay 90% – Pinot Noir 10%

This Gamay-Pinot Noir is a clear, slightly pinkish garnet. The nose is quite muted with a faint candied fruit quality that is accompanied by an earthiness, some aromatic dried flowers, and a touch of leather. It is medium bodied and quite dry with moderate acidity and tannins that don’t assert themselves at first, but which lend a bit of astringency towards the end. The floral quality is much more obvious in the mouth than the nose and nearly dominates the sour red and black fruit forming the base. There is a woodiness, with a touch of vanilla, and a few peppery notes as well. It is not a great wine, but pretty decent for the money. A little more aging might improve some of the rougher edges, perhaps.

The Chardonnay featured today is a Burgundy from the Cote Côte Chalonnaise sub-region, and, more specifically, the Montagny AOC. Personally, I am much more of a red wine drinker, and when I do go for whites, Chardonnay is not generally my first choice. I like trying new wines of all sorts, though, and this particular one turned out to be decidedly good…

Winery: EARL Clos Salomon

Price: $27.70 CDN

Alcohol: 13%

Sugar: < 1.2 g/L

This Chardonnay has a very pale straw color with a slight greenish tint. It has green and golden apples on the nose with faint floral notes, some peach and a touch of honey. It is medium full bodied with a rich, almost buttery texture. The acidity is refreshing and the initial impact is robust with the sharp savor of green apple followed by a more mellow fruitiness. It has some floral tones, and a woody note along with a very faint hint of fennel. The overall effect is well-rounded and very nice indeed.

Two summers ago, I tried the 2014 vintage of this particular Pinot Noir and my notes, though brief, were not all that complimentary and I gave it a two star rating. I gave three stars to a 2013 Merlot from the same winery, but again, my notes didn’t sing high praises and I was thus not expecting a great deal here. As it happens, though, this selection turned out very nicely…

Winery: Kim Crawford Wines

Price: $20.00 at SAQ

Alcohol: 13%

Sugar: 2.7 g/L

The color is a medium dark ruby and I noted a tiny bit of effervescence on decanting, although this dispersed quickly. The nose is muted, though very slightly aromatic, and there is a base fruitiness of raspberry and cherry along with a very faint floral scent. The body is medium light and the texture quite smooth. It is off dry and the acidity quite strong with tannins that present intermittently yet are still nicely prominent here and there. The dominant impact is of tangy, almost citrus-y, red-fruit, and this is complemented with a nice woodiness, and a faint touch of pepper. It is a nice refreshing sipping wine.

I was rather intrigued by the name of this wine but, after having a look on-line for an explanation, I am still in the dark as to the inspiration. The bottle simply declares it to be a blend without specifying any varietals, but the vintners website lists the composition as being Merlot 56%, Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Pinot Noir 2%, Cabernet Franc 1%. The sugar content is quite high but, ultimately, the actual effect is not that sweet…

Winery: The Malivoire Wine Company

Price: $15.95 at LCBO

Alcohol: 12.5%

Sugar: 13 g/L

The color is a fairly dark cherry red with a faint purple tint. An aromatic nose is dominated by red fruit and ripe dark berries and there is a pleasant sawdust quality with light floral notes and just an ephemeral hint of vanilla. It is medium bodied with a fairly smooth texture and the moderate sweetness is nicely offset by a medium acidity that rises just after the beginning before the nicely smooth and moderate tannins develop. The fruitiness is more sour than is suggested on the nose, having an almost citrusy character, but there is a nice blackcurrant note right at the start. There is a bit of oakiness, and just a hint of spice coming through near the end, but the finish a little short. Still, it is not a bad sipping wine and should appeal to a broad range of tastes and do well as an aperitif.

The Rully AOC appellation of Burgundy includes both red and whites from the Chalonnaise subregion, with Pinot Nor and Chardonnay being the main varietals. Today’s selection is a Pinot Noir, and a very nice one indeed….

Producer: Domaine Claudie Jobard

Price: $29.95 CDN

Alcohol: 13%

Sugar: 1.8 g/L

The color is a very dark cherry red. It has an exceptionally aromatic nose with cherry, raspberry and dark fruit dominating above some highlights that are faintly floral and grassy. The texture is fairly smooth and medium bodied and the effect is quite dry. The acidity and tannins are both moderately light and well balanced, with the tannins lasting fairly long into a decent finish. Blackcurrant and sweet cherry dominate the fruits and the floral quality of the nose is far more pronounced on the palate. There is also a spicy, peppery quality, along with a definite woodiness and leather, that all develop well together at first, with wood and pepper finishing. The floral quality is a bit strong, but, overall, this is a lovely sipping wine.

Chablis, is well a well known name and refers to Chardonnays from Burgundy, but, while there is a specific Chablis AOC, there is also a lesser known ‘Petit Chabis’ AOC as well. The wines belonging to this AOC are sometimes regarded as the ‘jewels’ of Chablis, but I was not overly impressed with today’s representative selection …

Winery: Domaine Chevalier

Price: $23.55 at SAQ

Alcohol: 12%

Sugar: 3.4 g/L

This Chardonnay is a medium straw color with a slight reddish tint. The nose is muted with very little in the way of fruitiness. It is very strong on straw and dried grass and also has a sulfur component. It is off dry and moderately acidic with muted sour apple flavors coupled with hay, and there is a strong vegetal and mineral presence as well. I thought the balance was ragged and the overall effect not especially pleasing.